Pharmacist provider status: What would it mean?
By Frank Grosso, CEO of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and member of the ACPHS President's Advisory Council
McKnight's Long-Term Care News
September 18, 2015
Professional and trade organizations advocating for pharmacy and pharmacists rarely agree on much, but the movement to persuade Congress to grant Medicare provider status to pharmacists is just such an issue.
Medicare currently allows physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, clinical social workers, physical and occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and clinical psychologists to bill directly for Medicare services. Pharmacists are excluded — despite the fact that pharmacists who graduate today are required to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree, a postgraduate degree that typically requires six years of college and graduate school.